The prognostic significance of extracapsular lymph node involvement in node positive patients with colonic cancer

AimsIn colonic cancer the prognostic significance of extracapsular lymph node involvement (LNI) is not established and is therefore the objective of this study.MethodsBetween January 1994 and May 2005, all patients who underwent resection for primary colonic cancer with lymph node metastasis were reviewed. All resected lymph nodes were re-examined to assess extracapsular LNI. In uni- and multivariate analysis disease-free survival (DFS) was correlated with various clinicopathologic factors.ResultsOne hundred and eleven patients were included. In 58 patients extracapsular LNI was identified. Univariate analysis revealed that pN-stage (5-year DFS pN1 vs. pN2: 65% vs. 14%, p < 0.001), extracapsular LNI (5-year DFS intracapsular LNI vs. extracapsular LNI: 69% vs. 41%, p = 0.003), and lymph node ratio (5-year DFS <0.176 vs. ≥0.176: 67% vs. 42%, p = 0.023) were significant prognostic indicators. Among these variables pN-stage (hazard ratio 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72–7.42) and extracapsular LNI (hazard ratio 1.98, 95% CI: 1.00–3.91) were independent prognostic factors. Among patients without extracapsular LNI, those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had a significantly better survival (p = 0.010). In contrast, chemotherapy did not improve DFS in patients with extracapsular LNI.ConclusionTogether with pN2 stage, extracapsular LNI reflects a particularly aggressive behaviour and has significant prognostic potential.